Chapters:

Fiona and Cassidy walked into the packed city council chambers,
to find seats. At the front of the room, Parker and members of
the council sat on a dais which was arranged in a semicircle.
Extra chairs had been placed in the back of the room but even
with those, it was standing room only as men, women and
children crowded into the building.

Cassidy took in the sight of people surrounding her.

"All this for a bunch of horses?"

"It's not just the mustangs," Fiona said, "It's a way of life."

Jason and Jed walked up to them.

"I got us seats in the front," Jason said, and they walked
towards them.

Fiona put her things down and sat, and as she did, she saw
Keely and the other developers sitting on the other side of the
aisle. They didn't look happy to see her.

Jason handed her a folder and she looked through it.

"We might have a chance to read part of the letter," he said,
"But they might try to shut us down."

"We'll have to stop them," Fiona said, looking around as more
people congregated in the chamber.

Parker pounded the gavel from his seat and gradually the room
quieted down as people focused their attention on the front of
the room.

"Welcome to the weekly meeting of the city council. Tonight we
are here to discuss the proposed conceptual plans for a new ski
resort which will be presented by Steve Keely. There will also
be an opportunity for public comment."

Suddenly, the room came to life again as people shifted in
their seats.

"I've got plenty to say," an elderly man stood up, "I've been
ranching in the valley for 50 years."

"Yeah, no outsider is going to come in and tell us what to do
with our land," a woman said from the audience.

Parker raised his hands to quiet everyone.

"Now hold on there," he said, "You'll all get your turn to
speak after Mr. Keely does his presentation. After you hear
what he has to say, I'm sure that will alleviate some of your
concerns."

The crowd rumbled, but the room became quiet again.

"Now without any further ado," Parker said, "I'll let Mr. Keely
explain his proposed project to the body."

Jason and Fiona looked at each other then sat back to listen.

Chance and Brody sat in a car at another stakeout. Brody ate
another Hoagie which stunk up the car and Chance realized that
it was getting harder to tell one stakeout apart from the next.

The phone rang. Chance took the call.

"Hello, this is Chance."

"It's Ginger," she said, "We met the night of the auction."

"Yes we did," he said, "By the Adonis ice sculpture."

"You remember," she said.

"Partly because the office just received the bill for payment
on it this morning."

"That doesn't sound fair," she said, "You were just doing your
civic duty by going after that purse snatcher."

"I did knock it down and break it into pieces," Chance said,
"It's not like it could be put back together."

"Still, that was by far the most exciting auction that
organization ever hosted," Ginger said, "They could have
covered the cost of the ice sculpture with the entertainment
budget."

Chance laughed.

"Any particular reason you're calling?"

"Oh yeah," she said, "The museum is having a special premiere
tomorrow night for a new exhibit that's being unveiled. I
thought you and your friends might want to attend."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Chance said, "She seemed
very nice the other night."

"That's how it will be, now that she's probably run a
background check on you and found out about all your assets,"
Brody said, "Dating's gotten so much more technical than it was
back in the day."

"You've never even met her," Chance said, keeping one eye on
the target of the stakeout, this time a warehouse.

"I don't have to," Brody said, "She had that look."

"Let's just drop this and stick to the job at hand, okay?"

The chambers rocked in absolute chaos. After Keely had given
his presentation and the city council had praised him for
everything from his conceptual design of the ski resort to
knowing how to operate a Power Point presentation, Parker had
finally opened the topic up for public comment.

Immediately, those in the audience began to line up on opposite
sides of the room to speak. Early on, members of the local
business chamber had on cue, gone up and lauded the pending
arrival of the new ski resort to the area even though it hadn't
been approved yet.

"All the people on their Rolodexes," Fiona had commented to
Jason, "They pick up the phone, they come running."

But after the fans of the project had finished speaking and sat
down, the dozens of those in opposition to the placement of a
tourist trap in their valley began to speak at the podium. With
each one, the beaming smile which had lit Parker's face dimmed
bit by bit. Each time someone finished speaking, the others in
the audience would cheer, some while standing on their feet.
Then Parker would pound his gavel again to get people to quiet
down.

Jed, Reed and the other ranchers had made speeches about how
they had worked the land in the valley for years, tending
cattle and raising horses. How their corner of the world had
escaped the development which had impacted other valleys in the
state. How they wanted to keep the land as it was to leave to
their children and grandchildren just as it had been left to
them. Fiona thought she saw one city councilwoman wipe a tear
away but she wasn't sure. The rest of the faces listening to
the speeches appeared set in stone.

Jed walked back to where Fiona and Jason were sitting with
Cassidy who took careful notes of the proceedings.

"I think it's going very well," he said, before sitting down.

Fiona nodded.

"This turnout is great," she said, "I don't think the council
or Parker expected it."

Fiona left to line up for a chance to speak to the council.
Alice stood in line in front of her.

"Isn't it great how everyone came out to speak against the ski
resort," Alice said.

Fiona smiled.

"I think someone's phone tree had something to do with this."

"I activated it," Alice said, "But there's people here who
aren't even from the valley."

"I called some people in town," Bonnie said, "Not everyone's in
cahoots with the chamber club."

Fiona passed where Keely sat with the other developers at their
section. The glance he threw her way wasn't as friendly as it
had been when she met Keely at a barbecue not long after coming
to town.

Alice brought down the chambers with her speech about how she
and her husband Gordon had settled down to a life of ranching
in the valley to raise their family. She shed a tear while she
spoke and she wasn't the only one.

When Fiona reached the podium, she looked at the city officials
and handed the clerk a stack of documents to pass out to each
member of the council sitting in front of her. They flipped
through the pages noncommittally, then looked up at her almost
in unison with stunned expressions on their faces.

"Yes, that document is what it appears to be," she said, "It
will be filed through the courts tomorrow. It's a temporary
injunction against any further land development in the valley
until a future hearing on this matter is set."

Keely swore and pounded his fist on the table. Parker looked
like he was cursing under his breath from behind his weakening
smile. The rest of the city council members just looked at each
other. The audience cheered.

"We were going to wait but then after receiving a declaration
from the Flynns and also the Wyatts who told of the methods
being used to persuade them to sell their land, we pushed it
ahead on the schedule."

Parker stood up.

"This is most improper," he said. "And probably is illegal to
boot."

He looked over at the city's attorney for support but the
bespectacled young man just shrugged.

One of the council woman spoke up.

"We need some clarification on this matter," she said, "We'll
have to adjourn to closed session to discuss this any further."

The crowd stood up and roared in protest.

"You can't make this decision away from the public and take it
behind closed doors," a man said.

Fiona tapped on the microphone.

"Excuse me, but I believe that the action that you're proposing
might be in violation of state law," she said, "At any point,
this is a courtesy notice of what's going to take place
tomorrow. "

Parker called for order.

"That is for us to determine," he said, "We will adjourn the
current proceedings and call for a special meeting in the next
several days to issue a response."

Everyone stood up to leave the building. Keely and his partners
walked up to speak with Parker and several other council
members.

He sat down at the bar with his uncle after pouring himself
some scotch.

"Tough day at work," Mac asked.

"I'm beginning to mix up my stakeouts," Chance said, "Brody
keeps trying to get me to take a vacation."

Mac looked at his nephew carefully.

"Do you think you need one?"

Chance shrugged.

"Sometimes," he said, "The caseload's not getting any smaller
even with hiring extra investigators."

"It did pile up when you and Fiona were gone all those months,"
Mac said.

"I know. Which is why I have been busting my butt to get it
back to where I could handle it."

"Then take a vacation," Mac said, "Why don't you go out to the
ranch where Fiona 's at and help her out on her case?"

"She said she didn't need an investigator," Chance said.

"She said that because she didn't want you to feel obligated to
drop all your work and fly out," Mac said, "But I think she
would appreciate it if you did come out and visit."

"Maybe when things settle down around here," Chance said, "It
would be nice to get away and relax."

The diner had just enough tables to accommodate the several
dozen people who appeared there after the adjournment of the
meeting to discuss what had happened. The waitress brought them
pitchers of ice tea and lemonade to start them out.

"Did we win back there," Bonnie asked as she sat next to Jed.

"I think we got a stay," Fiona said, "but probably only for
several days."

"Did you see how ticked off those developers were," Bonnie
said, "And Parker too. He looked like he was going to explode."

"I don't trust those developers at all," Alice said, "I have a
feeling they aren't going to take this setback very lightly."

"We've got them where we want them," Jason said.

Fiona sat with Jason and Cassidy in a booth saved by Maggie,
the paralegal who was working with them.

"Do you want anything to eat Cassidy," she said, "They've got
great burgers."

Cassidy put down her notebook on the table and picked up a
menu.

"Any chili cheeseburgers?"

Fiona smiled.

"Sure," she said, "I'll have one too."

"We've got to work on what's going to happen after we file the
legal papers tomorrow," Jason said, "I suspect their attorneys
will throw a lot of paper our way in response."

"That's to be expected," she said, "What's going to make or
break us is what the judge decides."

"That's why we have to have our ducks in a row in federal
court," Jason said, "We'll do our part on this end and the team
up in Denver can handle that end."

"I can help," Fiona said, "I'm licensed in federal court.
You're licensed here so you should be the leg man on this end."

"Okay, that will work," Jason said, "We make a great team,
don't we?"

Fiona nodded.

"Yes we do," she said, "And with the ranchers, we're going to
win this battle."

They clinked their glasses.

A bartender poured the vodka and handed it to Keely who walked
back to a booth where two other men were sitting.

"The injunction's not worth the paper it's printed on," one of
the men assured him.

Keely pounded his glass on the table, startling the other men.

"If the judge grants them a permanent one, it could shut down
this project for good," he said, "And I've funneled a lot of
money into it already."

"What about your lawyers?"

"They say we have to prepare for the permanent hearing and
raise a compelling enough argument for the judge to decide in
our favor and throw the injunction out."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Keely sipped his vodka and looked back at them.

"Then we have to use other methods to stop them in their
tracks," he said, "No one and I mean no one must interfere with
the success of this project."

"Got you boss."

"In fact, let's not wait until that hearing to get the ball
rolling back in our court."

Chance finished lifting weights and wiped the sweat off his
forehead with a towel. He had hoped that working out in his gym
would help relieve some of the stress that his business was
causing him. Not that he didn't enjoy the career he had built
for himself, he loved it but he felt with so many cases, he had
less time to commit to each one in the personalized style that
he had built his reputation on during the past few years.

Mac wandered in with a glass of juice and handed it to Chance,
who gulped it down.

"Do you feel better," Mac said, "You were at it for over an
hour."

"I really thought that hiring those extra four ex-cops would
help but I think I'm just going to have to stop taking new
cases until I catch up."

Mac looked at him.

"Is this what you really want to do?"

Chance looked up in surprise.

"My work," he said, "Of course it is. What kind of question is
that?"

"I've never seen you this tense about it," Mac said, "I've seen
it consume you in other ways but that's not the same thing."

Chance paused.

"I still love the investigating part, the never knowing what
the day's going to be like part," Chance said, "or the night
for that matter…"

"But…"

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for the office part of it," he said,
"And with Fiona building a new life for herself in Texas and
Christina working for Montana Enterprises out there as well, I
haven't been able to find anyone who has their talents."

"And their dedication," Mac finished.

"They helped me build the agency to what it is today."

"What's really bothering you Chance," Mac said, "This office
work or the fact that you're in L.A. and they're not?"

That stopped Chance in his tracks.

"I miss them," he said, "I miss the days we worked together
especially the earliest days."

"So what do you plan to do about it?"

Chance paused for a while to sort out the thoughts which were
racing through his head.

"I plan to try to reduce my caseload," he said, leaving the
gym.

Mac watched him go and shook his head.

Chance walked out onto the helipad and stood at its edge
looking out over the lights of L.A. He and Fiona both
separately came out here to collect their thoughts and sort
through their feelings when the need arose and most of the time
it helped. He had poured himself some more scotch and had
watched the activity which defined the night life in the
vibrant city suddenly wishing he were miles away.

He pulled out his cell phone and punched some buttons. Someone
standing thousands of miles away picked it up.

"Hi, Montana is that you?"

"Yes it is," he said, "I'm standing on the helipad looking at
the night sky."

"I've been very busy," he said, "Those new hires are a great
boost to business but I'm still working through some cases."

"The price of success," she said.

"How are things going in Colorado?"

"Very well," she said, "Jason and I addressed a packed city
council meeting today and told them about the injunction."

"How'd they take the news?"

She laughed.

"Not very well," she said, "But you should have seen all the
residents, not just the ranchers, who came out and spoke
against the project. It was truly inspiring. Even Cassidy was
impressed."

"Cassidy's spending time out with you?"

"Christina sent her out to chill out after the breakup of her
first big romance," Fiona said, "She was a big help tonight."

"So you're doing fine without an investigator," Chance said.

"Yes….but I really do miss you," she said, "So even if you
decide you need a break from your work, it'd be great to see
you again."

"I miss you too," Chance said, "It's not the same without you."

"I'm not staying away from L.A. to stay away from you," she
said.

"I know that," he said, "And I'm really proud of you for what
you've accomplished."

"Thank you," she said, smiling on the other end as she walked
out into the corner of the parking lot at City Hall where she
had parked her car.

"I'll see what I can do with this caseload…"

"Oh wait, Montana, I'm going to have to get back to you."

She hung up. He clicked off his phone and looked at it.

Fiona and Cassidy had walked to the rover while she was still
talking to Chance on the phone. But Cassidy had cried out and
pointed at the windshield. It had been cracked by a rock which
had been wrapped in a copy of the letter that Fiona had
presented to the city council at the meeting. Both rested on
the hood of the car.

"Damn," Fiona said, as she looked at the damage done to the
windshield. She looked around to see if anyone else was around
but the lot was quiet. Jed and Bonnie finally caught up with
them.

"What happened," he asked when he saw their facial expressions.

"Some jerk smashed the windshield with a rock," Cassidy said,
unwrapping some gum and sticking it in her mouth.

"We don't know it's even them," Fiona said, "They had copies of
the letter but so did members of the city council and Parker."

"It doesn't matter," Jed said, "Somebody's really upset at how
this meeting went down and they're blaming it on you. I doubt
any other cars got hit in this lot."

"Maybe they got lucky," she said.

"Maybe they've been following you and know the make of your
vehicle."

Fiona sighed.

"I didn't even see it at first because I was on the phone with
Montana."

"What did he think of it?"

"I didn't tell him," Fiona said, "No point in worrying him.
He's got enough to keep him busy with his business in L.A."

"You've got to report it to the sheriff," Jed said.

"He'll just tell me I shouldn't worry my sweet little head
about it," Fiona said, "that it was a prank by kids."

"We need to call him anyway," Jed said.

"Come on," Bonnie said, "Let's go back and wait in the store."

Chance and Brody drove down the highway back out to the
warehouse which they had left hours earlier. After Fiona had
hung up on him, Chance had discovered a phone call from his
partner on call-waiting. He picked it up and Brody told him he
had gotten a tip about a shipment being made at the warehouse.

"I guess they were too busy to show up this afternoon," Brody
said, "So it's coming in tonight."

"It could be our client's jewelry," Chance said, turning off
the highway.